Champions Trophy hockey: Spain to lock horns with Australia in final

Spain continued their remarkable return to form with a superb 3-1 win over The Netherlands, on Saturday, to set up a smashing encounter against Australia in the final of the FIH Champions Trophy, in Auckland. 

Goals from Edi Tubau, Roc Oliva and Gabriel Dabanch proved to be enough for the Spanish team that has come on leaps and bounds since their hugely disappointing 6th place finish at the EuroHockey Nations Championships last summer.

European champions Germany were in outstanding goal-scoring form, cruising to a 5-0 win over Pakistan. Goals from Tobias Matania, Jan-Marco Montag, Benjamin Wess, Florian Fuchs and Benedikt F rk ensured that Germany will play in the 5th place play-off game on Sunday.

The result means that Pakistan will play in the 7th-8th play-off match.

Great Britain will play Germany in Sunday's 5th-6th place play-off match after sealing a 4-3 victory over Korea in an entertaining Pool D clash. Mark Pearn scored the winning goal with just two minutes of the match remaining shortly after Korea had tied the scores at 3-3 thanks to a penalty stroke from Hyun Woo Nam.

The winner of Sunday's meeting between Germany and Great Britain will guarantee a place in the 2012 edition of the Champions Trophy. For Korea, the result means that they will face Pakistan in the play-off for 7th place on the same day.

New Zealand's Black Sticks produced a magnificent performance in front of 3500 cheering spectators but sadly fell to a 2-1 defeat against Australia in the final match of the day.

The host nation entered the match knowing that it was already mathematically impossible to reach the tournament final following Spain's victory over The Netherlands earlier in the day, but were extremely motivated to get one over the World No. 1 ranked team on home soil. The crowd roared and cheered with every decision throughout as fascinating contest that saw long periods of domination from the Black Sticks, but in the end they could not get the result that they wanted.

The Kookaburras have now won their last 13 Champions Trophy matches, which is the longest winning streak in Champions Trophy history.

Australian superstar Jamie Dwyer has been honoured by his fellow international hockey players by being named as the men's FIH Player of the Year for 2011, with compatriot Matthew Swann winning the Young Player award. Dwyer has won the award for a record fifth time.

The winners of the awards were presented with their prizes at the Owen G Glenn FIH Champions Trophy in Auckland by FIH President Leandro Negre.